The Implementation Of Erp At Tektronix Information Technology Essay

The Implementation Of Erp At Tektronix Information Technology Essay The Tektronix Inc: Global case study is a classic example of a case where an iconic leader with his team of motivated leaders and sponsors manages change by empowering and guiding people. Even though the ERP project was not an easy task, clear focus, planning and the executive push from the top meant the project was executed on a priority and various challenges tackled at the right time. In addition, the accomplishment of an ERP normally considered as a biggest information system project ever completed by a corporation (Whitten et al., 2000, Ehie and Madsen, 2005, Vlachopoulou and Manthou, 2006, Hitt et al., 2002). This case study also highlights the crucial role that business processes and business process reengineering play in the success of a global organisation. Additionally what is remarkable is the successful international implementation and rollout across divisions and geographies. Lets look at the various aspects of the ERP rollout at Tektronix one by one. The biggest challenge for any such initiative or a project is the management of change and the associated people management for such a large transformation project. This is in line with Grabski and Leech (2007) view that implementation of an ERP and associated BPR is not unchallenging. However, Carl Neun seems to manage this change as a true leader who is experienced and aware of challenges of change management (Westerman et al., 1999). Change management is a planned approach to causing people to accept transitions to develop operations (Joyce, 2000). Lets look at the change aspect of the project first and how the transformation from a legacy system to new generation ERP was successfully run. I am using the framework based of Harvard Business Review on Leading through Change. In John P Kotters (1995) article on Why Transformations fail, he highlights the eight steps to successful transformation of a organization as: Establishing a sense of Urgency Neun being an experienced CFO and an able leader knew that in order for the project to succeed and to link up the organization with an ERP system and create an ecosystem where information was available needed a sense of urgency to be created. He understood that for Tektronix to move forward and to invest and divest in various businesses, it needed to be connected via an information system else the company was headed for disaster. As Grabski and Leech (2007) stated that one approach to overcome this issue is investing in advanced information system, such as Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems, to improve the business competitiveness. Moreover, the dwindling financial performance was a factor to create the sense of urgency required. The impetus from Roy Barkers goal to double the printer business and also the realisation that the printer business would be volume game created the urgency for Tektronix to be ready with an IT system that would support growth. Forming a powerful guiding coalition Neun and his senior management team were the powerful guiding coalition that was assembled by the CEO. In the case study it is mentioned that the CEO had given Neun the unlimited authority on implementation and the buck stopped with Neun with regards to the ERP implementation. Neun then selected his long time associate Bob Vance as the CIO. Along with the business justification from Roy Barker, the team become a powerful guiding coalition and the individuals worked together as a great a team. Creating a vision Carl Neun knew his end goal was to create an organisation where information was readily available and could be shared easily. He wanted to simplify the complexity and address change by removing archaic processes and systems. Neuns Frankfurt is Orlando analogy was the vision of the project. It highlighted that the business all over the world was similar barring language and certain local legal requirements. To support this, Bingi et al. (2002) believed that Integration through ERP systems allows organizations to share information in a standard format across its various divisions both in the headquarter and in its global offices, with no modifications for language and currency differences needed. Carl very clearly expanded his vision toward the implementation as with three components of a) separability of businesses b) leveraging shared services c) staying plain vanilla as possible, as alterations could lead to budget and time overruns, defective functionality (Sumner, 2000). Standardi sing the business processes was a key component of Carls vision and he was focussed to ensure that complex processes were simplified to the maximum possible extent. Communicating the vision The vision was communicated first by getting the business heads such as Barker to back the plan. Once he had raised the concerns other managers and senior managers joined in the cause. Carl and Vance took the lead to communicate the vision by first explaining their ideas of the simplified architecture of the transformed information system. They also took pain to simplify and push for standardisation. The idea of starting with implementation at CPID and then moving onto other divisions also gave the opportunity for the learnings at one place to be applied to the next one, as noted by Rogers (1995) that the adoption of a new system will follow an S curve by having innovator or early adopter organisations taking the lead, followed by early majority, late majority adopters, then at last laggards. This approach helped to teach the new behaviours as the guiding coalition was at the forefront of the change and were leading by example. Empowering others to act on the vision The key component for empowering others to change include a) Getting rid of obstacles to change b) Changing systems and structures that seriously undermine change c) Encouraging risk taking and non-traditional ideas, activities and actions. As identified by Ahadi (2006) as the change management effectiveness in the organisation. He asserts that the ability of the organisation to authorize employees, appraise performance, apply reward systems, conduct training and education and facilitate communication during the process of change is crucial. Carl Neun was empowered by the CEO to take the project through and the empowerment trickled down to the level of execution. This allowed the CIO and his team to put extra people, fire people who were acting as hindrance to the implementation. In addition the team structure put in place and the roles ensured that the projects in various geographies rolled up together very well in a coherent way. The key hindrance to success was lack of financial information and Carl Neun took the right steps to simplify the business processes and reduce disparities across the world and then put in the ERP system, which would enable the change. He shuffled the European organisation structure and chang ed it to commission basis as it would allow for the changes to be made swiftly and removal of the country managers helped the cause further. Planning for a creating Short Term wins The key to success of the Tektronix ERP implementation was the implementation of the project in waves. The concept of allowing the project to be implemented in waves did in turn create short-term wins where people and teams could see things were working. Not only did implementing the project in waves allowed for it to be implemented well but also allowed the learning from previous waves to be carried out into further projects. That is allowing what is known as windows of opportunity (Tyre and Orlikowski, 1994) to develop where the users would discover novel and better ways to carry out their daily work after implementation which could be fed back to the global group in other divisions. Consolidating improvements and producing still more change Once the first wave was successful the leadership team kept moving in to implement the changes across the organisation and across geographies. The credibility that came from implementing the first wave was used to push forward the further waves as the momentum picked up as things started to work. One very interesting aspect was the Neun and Vance decision to use consulting support for the implementation of the project. I think it was a great idea that saved the internal teams and people coordinating the project valuable time that would have been spent learning the nuances of Oracle ERP, as argued by Olsen and Saetre (2007) that the users of an ERP system may not fully be familiar with system and thus utilise it. It took the right call by allowing the firm that developed an interface between its manufacturing system and oracle to give it the rights to sell/license the interface. All these successful implementations of the one wave after another gave the momentum to keep pushing the change further and ensuring that the change agents were constantly at work on the key vision of Frankfurt is Orlando. The learning from every wave was useful and the managers were quick on their feet. They consolidated improvement to produce change and whatever was not working in a wave was changed and the successful behaviour then became a part of the next wave. For instance when the consulting firm called into help CPID was not helping, they quickly moved onto a combination of Aris, Oracle and other consultants to speed up the lost time. The project management team teamed up consultants with Tektronix staff who took the charge of business change while the consultants were given the responsibility to deal with system deals. The case clearly illustrates how the first wave was used to consolidate improvements and produce further change. While the implementation at CPID took a little longer than expected, it was considered successful. With this first domestic implementation, Tektronix was able to learn powerful lessons, build internal skills, and establish practices that helped with all of future implementation waves. Institutionalising new approaches The new business processes were thoroughly discussed before being implemented in different decisions and catered to the individual needs of each business unit. The senior team at each business unit understood the needs of the business unit and institutionalised the new approaches to doing business. Large scale project implementation and strategic alignment Tektronix managed a large-scale project very well despite lots of previous difficulties with regards to implementing other IT projects. However this one was a success because of the understanding and the vision of Neun and Vance to ensure that the business processes were simplified, as Hammer (1990) stated that the projects success involving companies investing in IT to develop their business, was usually not attained as the IT was only used to expedite existing processes. This process of alignment of the IT strategy and Business strategy is key to successful performance for any organisation as highlighted in the MIT90S (Scott Morton, 1991) and Strategic Alignment Models (SAM) (Henderson and Venkatraman, 1992). SAM suggests that for firms to be competitive, business and information strategies need to aligned (Avison et al., 2004). Henderson and Venkatraman (1992) have clearly demarcated the various domains in their strategic alignment model as shown below in the figure. They have highlighted the importance of internal and external perspectives and how the strategic fit between these aspects influences the competitiveness of firms. The key perspective that comes of the SAM is the straightforward relation between Business strategy and Business Infrastructure and IT strategy and IT infrastructure and processes. Also the cross dimensional alignment between Business Strategy and IT Infrastructure, IT strategy and Business Infrastructure and Processes is key to competitiveness. Fig 1: Strategic Alignment Model (Source: Henderson and Venkatraman, 1992) Looking at the case study it becomes apparent that Carl Neun understood the principle of a successful global organisation and his vision clearly brought together the functional integration as well as cross dimensional alignments. He knew that business processes needed to be reengineered first. As Skok and Legge (2002) acknowledged that the success of an ERP implementation is attained with preceding implementation of BPR. Accordingly, the business processes needed to be simplified and then the appropriate IT infrastructure and IT systems and processes to be put in place to get the benefits that Tektronix was seeking from the IT alignment. The strategy of implementing the project in waves was crucial to the success of the project and also the project team structure was the right structure for successful implementation of such a large project. Looking at the project management strategy, I feel that the team structure of Neun being the Project sponsor and Vance spending considerable time on the project in detail was very important. The local implementation was the guiding factor on how to move ahead with the implementation even though the global implementation had its own challenges as argued by Ross (1999), that overabundance of distinct and independent systems in different parts of the organisation impeding globalization. Program management and giving team members the authority and power to decide on the critical aspects that affected their business the most was a smart project management decision. I am particularly impressed by the structure at the local implementation where for each wave there were functional experts, change control team, Functional sub team and most importantly the test team. Each wave at the different business units had its peculiarity and different business processes depending on the structure and the need of the individual business units. If we look at the role of Functional experts who were allocated to each wave to ensure that all the essential knowledge and remained with the implementation teams till the final wave. As it has been highlighted that this led to postponement of some initiatives because other initiatives also depended on the availability of the most knowledgeable resources. I believe that this was the right strategy even though that led to delay of initiatives that were to be started; the waves that were on were implemented successfully. The project and program management of Neun and Vance must be commended, as they understood that they could not afford delays in projects. All project management is a delicate balance of the resources, time and cost as sides of a triangle. Affecting one has impact on the others. So when the projects were facing delays the management did not shy in putting in more consultants on the project. The team structure of leaving the system aspects to external consultants was a g ood decision as it freed up the business people and Tektronix experts to focus on the business processes and the knowledge aspect rather than having to understand the deep technical aspects or the architectural nuances of the ERP system. Software selection and extending the software functionality Tektronix has already seen the worse effects of the not invented here with regards to the software and infrastructure solutions. Neun made the right call with going for the Oracle ERP solution. Neun understood the outsourcing advantage and also the core competency of Tektronix was not at developing software solution. He left the development of the software and implementation to the right experts. Vance took the right decision with regards to the manufacturing ERP and leaving it in place. Had the manufacturing system been taken off and Oracle ERP components used, then it would have been a challenge as the people in manufacturing who had recently undergone a systems change would be swamped by the next change wave and would feel unsettled. I think this was the best decision taken to get an external company to do the interface between manufacturing ERP and the Oracle ERP. Vance and Neun also did not waste eons of time on deciding the alternatives and which ERP package to select. Such evaluation programs usually cost organisations lots of money and they highlight trivial differences between the best of the breed packages. The decision taken to go ahead with the oracle implementation, as the team was Neun and Vance had experience of working with Oracle and knew that the oracle solution would cater to the needs. The idea of using a small dedicated team that focussed on the capabilities of what Oracle could do and the time they spent upfront on ensuring that Oracle could do what was required for Tektronix shows the discipline and focus from top to bottom to get a solution working for the organisation. Another laudable aspect of the software implementation was the plain vanilla approach adopted by the Neun. His understanding that software adaptation and customisation not only costs money and time but also introduces other behaviours that need to regression tested showed a mature thinking with regards to software customisation and development . Instead he focussed on simplifying and adapting the business processes such that they could be realised in the plain vanilla implementation of the software. Only in special and rare cases was customisation allowed and then also where customisation was done, the teams were dedicated to rigorous testing and testing with full load scenarios to ensure that the customisation did not introduce any unintended errors and behaviours. Nevertheless, Markus et als (2000) studies of businesses implementing ERP observed that some adjustments to the system were unnecessary after the users began using it more effectively. The implementation move to using Aris and Oracle consultants once the Tektronix team were sure on what sort of consultants were useful showed the ability of the business and implementation leaders to take the best decisions for the business. They cut out the slack and unnecessary admin overheads related to evaluating consultants, interviewing and employing them. The idea to use consultants on a time and material basis was a smart idea on keeping the project on time. Use of low cost resources and contractors kept the project costs in rein and the putting of extra consultants on waves where a delay could occur, shows dedication and commitment to ensure roll outs happen in time and are successful for the projects. Replicating this success to the international level and using the waves methodology is commendable. The project team and execution structure for the international project was exemplary. The idea to do away with the country managers and keep a simple structure as the global structure was exemplary for the global project management. In fact selection of individuals who had long term ties and understanding of the global regions was the right approach taken by the program management team. Also the idea to create a central processing centre in Marlow was an excellent idea towards consolidation. Keeping English as the language of communication for the company was a sensible decision that fast tracked the implementation. Personally I feel that the brilliant job done at customisation for the printing of bills and local communication was hitting the nail on the head in terms of implementation. At the time when the project was implemented localisation was still picking up as a technology domain and would have taken much longer than expected. The consolidation of the infrastructure was another bold move which was taken by Vance; outsourcing the data centres completely freed the valuable resources and the company could focus on the core work of making the implementation a success. It was exemplary how they managed to pull off the whole thing together as a success. The results were satisfactory and when the people quoted that they spent 90% of their time just collecting data and only 10% analysing it. The whole situation changed after then implementation as people spent 90% of their time analysing information which was the core purpose of the implementation was to make information readily available and convert data into information. The Tektronix team did an excellent job. Conclusion I believe that the job was successful and what Tektronix needs to do for further implementations and such large programs is to keep the spirit and the learnings from the Oracle ERP implementation. One area that they need to pay a lot of attention would be the evolving business process framework and pay special attention to the management of Business processes. Going further in time with complex business needs and changing customer requirements and global environments would require Tektronix to adapt the business processes and if Tektronix paid special attention to keeping the business process framework up to date and then use it to drive the software changes it will keep things in control. The best way to do so would be to have process owners and process sponsors who are in charge of maintaining and consulting the stakeholders on process changes and then keep the process architecture of the organisation updated. This will ensure all further projects could experience similar success i f the right team structure and leaders are engaged.

America’s cause Essay

But he calmly proceeded to act his part, pretending not the least bothered by the gut-wrenching ride over a swirling sea. The following day he received this message from the Navy Department: â€Å"Dear Mr. Wayne- we are pleased to record this latest addition to naval lore. To the immortal expression, ‘damn the torpedoes, full speed ahead,’ we now add your own memorable words, ‘get me out of this son of a bitch! ’†(Wayne168-169). Wayne spoke the American language well. Once, asked by a reporter about his rumored plan to run for president, Wayne said, â€Å"Bullshit. † When asked to give a definite comment, Wayne told him to use the word. The following day, this news item appeared: â€Å"When Mr. Wayne was questioned about the possibility of running for national office, he replied ‘B—–t! †(Wayne 162). Americans responded to John Wayne in a manner different from other stars of his generation. Other actors simply shed off their screen personae after the lights went off; not so Wayne. Although little was written about his private life (marriage, romantic affairs) until after his death, his public life was an open book that maintained and reinforced the John Wayne mystique. He was a natural treasure who was loved and respected. In 1979 he was awarded the Congressional Gold Medal. In 1998, an Army RAH-66 helicopter was named â€Å"Duke† in his honor. He wore a POW bracelet to show his sympathy with the fighting men in Viet Nam. Speaking extemporaneously before a subcommittee hearing in connection with the bill for the Congressional Gold Medal, Maureen O’Hara Blair, Wayne’s co-star in The Quiet Man, spoke for Wayne: â€Å"He is, believe me, the United States of America. He is a man that has a code of beliefs that he sticks with. He believes in individual responsibility and honor. † Said Reagan of Wayne: I never saw Duke display hatred toward those who scorned him. Oh, he could use some pretty salty language, but he would not tolerate pettiness and hate. He was human all right: he drank enough whiskey to float a PT boat, though he never drank on the job. . . he was virtually always the first to arrive on the set and the last to leave. World War II helped to define what John Wayne stood for. Unable to join the Navy due to an old football injury, his age (34), and being a father of four, Wayne did his part in the war by making movies about America’s fighting men. He appeared minus his horse and six-shooter in memorable films like the Fighting Seabees, Flying Tigers, Reunion in France, They Were Expendable, and Back to Bataan. The 1949 film Sands of Iwo Jima earned Wayne his first Oscar nomination. These films did not have the nauseating gore and graphic violence of present-day war movies, but they exalted the heroism of ordinary men, and people related to them well. Wayne had made it a point not to accept any role that was un-American or tended to denigrate the United States or the American tradition. At a time when he was nearly bankrupt, Wayne bankrolled, starred in, and directed the epic The Alamo, which had been his dream project of many years. In it, playing the role of Davy Crockett, he described the defenders’ role as they waited for the approaching battle with Santa Anna: â€Å"There’s right and there’s wrong. You got to do one or the other. You do the one and you’re living. You do the other and you may be walking around, but you’re as dead as a beaver hat. † As Crockett, he voiced out the timeless yearning of the Texans for independence: â€Å"It means people can live free, talk free, go or come, buy or sell, be drunk or sober, however they choose. † John Wayne did not win on Oscar for The Alamo (except for Best Sound) although it received six nominations, but people came in droves to see the movie. Besides his classic westerns and war pictures, The Alamo is one of his lasting legacies. John Wayne is often equated with conservatism. He was the product of an age when Americans were proud of their heritage, conscious of their country’s new role as a world power and sincerely believed in the righteousness of America’s cause. He was born when Theodore Roosevelt was president, a man who believed in Manifest Destiny and was wont to â€Å"speak softly, but carry a big stick. † Wayne belonged to a generation yet untouched by pangs of national self-doubt, unstricken by remorse over purported wrongs committed by the white man against the natives, the blacks, the Vietnamese, the American youth who were being sent to die in remote battlefields. This was the turbulent 60’s, an age when young Americans were seduced by flower power, discovered new ideologies, adopted a libertarian attitude and opposed any kind of war. In a nation divided by war, John Wayne was seemingly a lonely figure as young Americans felt shame for everything America ever did in the course of her ascent to world dominance. A friend of Senators Barry Goldwater and Joe McCarthy, and former President Ronald Reagan, John Wayne was Republican to the core. Against the weakening of American resolve, John Wayne’s tenacious adherence to the American tradition of duty and honor could only be seen as naivete – sprung from the good guy–bad guy scenarios in his celluloid world. From the 40’s to the 60’s, the Left made inroads in school campuses where teach-ins became common, swaying many of the youth to the new ideology, and threatening to undermine the foundations of the country’s democratic system. Due to its potentials for propaganda, the movie industry was targeted and there were rumors that some Hollywood figures had embraced socialism. In 1944, Wayne helped found the Motion Picture Alliance for the Preservation of American Ideals, in the company of other giants like Clark Gable, Gary Cooper, Walt Disney, and Robert Taylor. He later became president of the association for two terms. He was outspoken against the communist threat. He was mistaken for an archconservative and accused of blackballing movie personalities who refused to cooperate in Congressional hearings, although he never testified, nor did he blackball anybody (Wayne 55). His being perceived as a staunch anti-communist even gave rise to rumors that the late Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin plotted to have him murdered (Soviet Dictator).

Impact On Teaching And Learning Practice Education Essay

This paper presents a reappraisal of the literature on schoolroom formative appraisal, or appraisal for larning. Several surveies have shown grounds that the frequent execution of formative appraisal schemes can give significant acquisition additions. Student perceptual experiences are considered along with an analysis of the formative schemes used by instructors in systemic attacks to learning. There besides follows a treatment on the nature of appraisal for acquisition and its deductions for the development of learning pattern.2. IntroductionAppraisal for acquisition is frequently referred to as formative appraisal, and can be defined in assorted ways. To help elucidation, the definition of formative appraisal used in this paper is meant to include: ‘all those activities undertaken by instructors – and by their pupils in measuring themselves – that provide information to be used as feedback to modify instruction and acquisition activities. Such assessment becomes formative appraisal when the grounds is really used to accommodate the instruction to run into pupil demands ‘ ( Black & A ; Wiliam, 1998b: 140 ) From this definition formative appraisal can be conceptualized as consisting of five cardinal schemes: 1. Clarifying and sharing learning purposes and standards for success ; 2. Engineering effectual schoolroom treatments and other larning undertakings that elicit grounds of pupil apprehension ; 3. Supplying feedback that moves scholars frontward ; 4. Triping pupils as instructional resources for one another ; 5. Triping pupils as the proprietors of their ain acquisition. ( Black & A ; Wiliam, 2009 ) The research into appraisal for acquisition has led to the development of a theory of formative appraisal which attempts to specify all formative interactions as those ‘in which an synergistic state of affairs influences knowledge ‘ ( Ibid: 11 ) . The get downing point of the work on formative appraisal that is described in this paper was the reappraisal by Black and Wiliam ( 1998a ) . This reappraisal covered a really broad scope of published research and provided grounds that formative appraisal raises criterions and that the assessment patterns of the period were weak. However, there seemed to be really few resources to assist instructors set the research findings into pattern. Partially in response to this perceived deficiency of aid, Black and Wiliam published the brochure Inside the Black Box ( 1998b ) , which served four chief purposes: aˆ? To give a brief reappraisal of the research grounds. aˆ? To do a instance for more attending to be paid to assisting pattern inside the schoolroom. aˆ? To pull out deductions for practical action. aˆ? To discourse policy and pattern ( Wiliam, 2011 ) . The reappraisal by Black and Wiliam ( 1998a ) involved analyzing reappraisals of research published up to 1988 and so look intoing through the issues of over 160 research diaries and books for the old ages 1988 to 1997 and their reappraisal drew on stuff from 250 beginnings. One of the precedences identified in measuring the research studies was to place and summarize surveies that produced quantitative grounds that inventions in formative appraisal can take to betterment in the acquisition of pupils. Since the publication of Black and Wiliam ‘s reappraisal at that place has been a greater focal point on issues environing appraisal for larning and their possible benefits to instructors and pupils in raising schoolroom attainment. In 2008 the DCSF published The Assessment for Learning Strategy which presented the characteristics and possible benefits of formative appraisal as shown in the image below ( DCSF, 2008:5 ) . It seems that there is now a consensus in many educational circles that assessment for acquisition is one of the most important, ways of raising attainment within schools. The purpose of this paper is to reexamine and critically analyze some of the most important grounds that has been gathered sing formative appraisal, and whether it warrants the focal point that is now being placed upon its usage by instructors and pupils in our schoolrooms today.3. Ethical motivesThe intent of this literature reappraisal is to analyze and measure the efficaciousness appraisal for larning schemes on bettering pupil attainment, and as such is designed to hold a positive impact on instruction and acquisition pattern, guaranting that learning and assessment clip is used every bit efficaciously as possible. As such, there are improbable to be any negative or harmful effects as a consequence of this paper. In its Ethical Guidelines for Educational Research BERA province that educational research aims to ‘extend cognition and apprehension in all countries of educational activity and from all positions ‘ ( 2011: 4 ) , and this paper will try to run into these hig h purposes. In conformity with the BERA guidelines attention will be taken, when reexamining surveies, to guarantee that the consequences are non used in any manner other than was intended by research workers, and that was made explicit to participants so as non to encroach upon the footings of voluntary informed consent, right to retreat and privateness afforded to them in the original surveies. The paper will see the context and methodological analysis of each research survey, and will merely include those which are deemed to run into the high ethical criterions laid out by BERA ( 2011 ) in their Ethical Guidelines for Educational Research.4. MethodologyChiefly quantitative research was considered and collated, across a assortment of instruction platforms, and in a assortment of parts of the universe, and so the research has been analysed harmonizing to the undermentioned standards, in order to help choice and reading: Focus – What was the intended focal point of the research? Context and coverage – Where was the survey undertaken? At what degree of instruction? How large was the sample size? When was the research completed? Where was the research undertaken? Perspective – Is at that place impersonal representation of the information or is at that place any prejudice toward a specific result? Methodology – How was the research conducted? Audience – What was the intended audience of the research? Findingss – Are the findings important and can they robustly support the decisions drawn? Impact – What is the impact of the survey and is it relevant to the reappraisal? Restrictions – What limitations or lacks exist in the research? Areas for future development – Does the research lead to farther countries that can or necessitate to be researched in future? Adapted from Randolph ( 2009 ) . Due to the sheer figure of surveies into the effects of appraisal for larning The trouble in executing this reappraisal was in choosing the most appropriate plants and research surveies that have been conducted and written to this point, and besides in collating the findings suitably. Student patterned advance and attainment can besides be measured in assorted ways, but an effort at synthesis has been made in order to supply the reader with utile and robust informations to back up the decisions of the paper. The undermentioned subdivision reviews the literature that was selected utilizing the above methodological analysis. The surveies chosen were all based on quantitative comparings of larning additions, and for being strict in utilizing pre- and post- trials and comparing of experimental with control groups. It is non implied, nevertheless, that utile information and penetrations about the subject can non be obtained by work in other paradigms.5. Literature ReappraisalIn this subdivision summarised histories will be presented of research which was selected and reviewed harmonizing to the standards outlined in Sections 3 and 4, and which illustrate some of the chief countries and issues involved in research which aims to procure grounds about the effects of formative appraisal. The first undertaking considered was a undertaking in which 25 mathematics instructors from Portugal were given developing in assorted methods of self appraisal during a 20 hebdomad educational class, which they went on to implement into their instruction pattern with 354 pupils aged between 8 to 14 old ages old ( Fontana & A ; Fernandes, 1994 ) . The students of an extra 20 instructors, who were taking a different class in instruction, acted as the control group. Both of the groups were given pre- and post- trials to find their degree of mathematics achievement, and both spent the same sum of clip in category on the survey of mathematics. Both groups showed important additions over the period, but the experimental group ‘s average addition was approximately twice that of the control group ‘s addition. The chief focal point of work was on regular self-assessment by the students, which involved learning them to develop a degree of apprehension of both the acquisition aims and the appraisal standards, giving them chance to take larning undertakings in which they had an involvement and utilizing undertakings which gave them the ability to measure their ain acquisition results. This research showed robust grounds of attainment additions when utilizing formative appraisal schemes. The writers of the survey reflected that extra work was required to look for long-run results and to research the comparative effectivity amongst the assorted techniques employed in together and in isolation of each other. In this survey the two outstanding elements found were the focal point on self-assessment and the execution of this appraisal. It was non conclusive that one or other of these characteristics, or the combination of the two, was responsible for the additions that were found. The 2nd illustration had its beginning in the thought of command acquisition, but departed from the mainstream political orientation in that the writers of the survey began with a belief that it was the frequent testing that would be identified as the chief ground for the addition in the acquisition accomplishments reported for this attack. The undertaking was an experiment ( Martinez & A ; Martinez, 1992 ) , in which 120 American college pupils in an introductory algebra class were placed in one of four groups, two experimental and two control groups. The experimental group were tested three times every bit frequently as the control group throughout the class and the consequences of a post-test showed a important public presentation addition for those tested more often over the less often tested control group. It could be questioned as to whether frequent proving truly constitutes formative appraisal and this inquiry would necessitate to measure the quality of the teacher-student interactions sing trial consequences and on whether trial consequences really could be considered as representing formative appraisal in the sense of it taking to step ining action taken to shut any spreads in public presentation ( Ramaprasad, 1983 ) . The 3rd survey reviewed here was involved formative appraisal schemes used in the instruction of kindergarten kids who were aged 5 ( Bergan et al. , 1991 ) . The writers of the survey held a thesis that focused attending to the early acquisition of basic accomplishments is indispensable for kids. The undertaking involved 838 kids drawn from largely disadvantaged place backgrounds in the USA. The instructors of the experimental group designed and carried out a measuring and planning system which required an initial appraisal input to be able to inform and act upon instruction pattern at the single degree, and further diagnostic appraisals to invariably supervise advancement and accommodate the instruction and larning throughout the 8 hebdomad period of its class. The instructors used chiefly the observations of accomplishments to measure advancement and attainment. At the decision of the survey, result trials were so compared with the initial appraisals of the same accomplishments. An alysis of the information showed that the experimental group achieved significantly. It is of import to observe, nevertheless, that of the control group, on mean 1 kid in 5 was referred as holding peculiar larning demands and the corresponding figures for the experimental group were 1 in 17 and so this may bespeak an country of failing in the reconciliation between control and experimental groups within this survey. Another illustration of research in this country involved work to develop an inquiry-based in-between school science-based course of study and was conducted by Frederiksen & A ; White ( 1997 ) . The learning class focused chiefly on a practical enquiry based attack to larning within a designated country of scientific discipline, and the work included 12 categories of 30 pupils across two different schools. The categories were taught to a strictly constructed course of study program in which scientific issues were explored through practical experiments and computing machine simulation, utilizing an enquiry rhythm theoretical account that was made explicit to the pupils. The work was carried out in collaborative equal groups, with each category being split into two halves. Half of each category acted as a control group utilizing parts of the lessons for the general treatment of issues environing the subject, whilst the other half acted as the experimental group and spent the same clip on structured collaborative treatment, designed to advance brooding appraisal, utilizing techniques such as self appraisal and peer appraisal of category presentations. All of the students involved in the survey were given the same basic accomplishments trial at the beginning and the same station trial to mensurate attainment and advancement. On the result tonss, the experimental group showed a important overall addition ; nevertheless, when the consequences were compared to the initial pre-tests it was found that pupils who ab initio scored lower, saw the biggest additions from the formative appraisal schemes implemented in the survey, with the highest ability pupils betterment was less pronounced. Amongst all the pupils in the experimental group, those who showed the best apprehension of and ability to implement the ego appraisal processes achieved the highest tonss.

Essay Weaknesses in America - 1290 Words

Weaknesses in America Over the past few years, America has been tested to the extreme with both acts of terrorism and even natural disasters, killing thousands of people and revealing Americas weaknesses. No American citizen ever thought that this great and powerful country could be so unprepared and vulnerable, but as everyone looked in shock at the planes crashing into the World Trade Center, one question came to most peoples minds: Are we safe in the country we call home? The days went by and no one ever forgot those horrible pictures of 9/11 until a different, but just as devastating, event occurred; her name was Katrina. Hurricane Katrina ravished through New Orleans and Mississippi, leaving hundreds dead, millions without†¦show more content†¦The attacks of 9/11 and Hurricane Katrina could not have been prevented, but if our government would have acted in either using its high tech equipment to locate the planes or just common sense to evacuate people in the south before the storm, then many American lives could have been saved and many families would still have their loved ones. All the blame should not be on just the Federal government but on both the Federal and the State government. As American citizens, we must realize that the Federal government cannot keep an eye on everything going on, and that is where the State governments come in. The State governments of Louisiana and Mississippi should have taken charge and helped their citizens out by loading buses and taking them north, a lot like what Texas did in preparation of Hurricane Rita. Instead in Louisiana, hundreds of city buses that could have been used to ship out stranded people were left to be flooded by the rising waters (The Shaming of America). But the Federal government is still not excused. Our U.S. government put millions of dollars into creating the Department of Homeland Security and it has now failed its first big test because of all its attention towards Iraq and terrorism, and not on natural disasters in our own country. (The Shaming of America) A division of the Department of Homeland Security, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), wasShow MoreRelatedMeli Marine : An Important Decision For The Company Essay980 Words   |  4 Pagesdecision for the company. Critical questions 1. What’s Meli’s budget of entering the Asia-North America market? 2. What are the strengths and weaknesses of Meli Marine? 3. What are the risks and obstacles of this move? 4. Does the 16 vessels and their capacities suit best for the Asia-North America market? 5. Could Meli Marine continue using the customer-centric service strategy in the Asia-North America market? Justification and discussion of relative effectiveness of critical questions 1. ‘AnRead MoreSwot Analysis Of Swot And Swot Analysis738 Words   |  3 Pagestheir business and future growth. This procedure identifies the internal and external strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats that are in the markets. SWOT analysis helps you decide your position against your competitors, identifies best future opportunities, and highlight current and future threats. SWOT analysis is an acronym for Strength, Weakness, Opportunity and Threat. Strengths and weaknesses are internal factors that you have within your business on which you have full control whereasRead MoreThe Generation Of The Boomer Generation1545 Words   |  7 Pagessurrounding it. Older generations who are in the workforce are noticing difficulties with their Millennial staff members. Millennials should strive towards combating their stereotypes by understanding their weaknesses, strengthening their weaknesses, and by applying their new strengths. Understanding Weaknesses To recognize how to fix a problem, one must fully understand what the predicament is. Comprising of characteristics that are both positive and negative, the Millennials are people who are complexRead MoreCase Study1164 Words   |  5 Pages(Core Competencies) Case Study Bank of America (A) by Alexander Beil Christoph Hillgà ¤rtner Florian Schlegelmilch Harvard Case Study: Bank of America List of Contents 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. Introduction / Definitions Overview â€Å"Bank of America† Product development processes Strength and weaknesses of the systems Learning through experimentation Conclusion / Learnings Summary Questions for group discussion References 1 Harvard Case Study: Bank of America 1. Introduction / Definitions DescriptionRead MoreVerizon Communication Swot Analysis716 Words   |  3 Pagesenvironment in order for the business to understand their environment. (Dess, Lumpkin, Eisner, McNamara 2014.) This comes by doing a SWOT Analysis which is a basic technique. By doing a SWOT Analysis, the company can identify its strengths and weaknesses which are the internal forces. The analysis also identifies the external forces which are the opportunities and threats in the industry. Verizon Communications is the company that will be reviewed. Verizon SWOT Analysis Strengths Opportunities Read MoreMy Strengths Weaknesses1254 Words   |  6 PagesEveryone is different in many ways. There are differences in gender, nationality, religious activities and there are differences in strengths and weaknesses. Those strengths and weaknesses are looked at in Corporate America and they assist the higher management in making decisions for the roles we play on each team. I will be discussing my strengths and weaknesses. Over the years, I have learned how to react and respond in different ways and it all depends on what is happening in my surroundings. I oweRead MoreTrap-Ease America: the Big Cheese of Mousetraps1483 Words   |  6 PagesEconomics Graduate Program ADVANCED MARKETING MANAGEMENT, MKT.500 Case Study one: Trap-Ease America: The Big Cheese Of Mousetraps Presented To: Dr. Ziad Haddad Presented By: Shady Habboub Fall Semester 2009-2010 1- The Mission Statement of Trap-Ease America: â€Å"We want to free your homes from mice. Fathers: you can protect your families easily and safely. Trap-Ease America is your state of the art solution† 2- The opportunities that arise in the environment, if successfullyRead MoreStrengths and Weaknesses of Toyota731 Words   |  3 PagesStrengths and Weaknesses of Toyota Module 3-Case Study [Pick the date] Student Name Toyota is a key player in global automotive market. Its structure constitutes if various production plants in different locations and a very strong branding which helps it capture a major market share. Like other enterprises, Toyota has several strengths and weakness which makes it what it is now. Toyota heavily invests in Research and development which helps it come up reputable product line which isRead MoreThe Luxottica Group : An Italian Eyewear Company1636 Words   |  7 Pagesover 80% of the world s designer eyewear brands. Luxottica has become a leader in the prescription eyewear business in North America with retailers that include LensCrafters and Pearle Vision brands, Asia-Pacific with OPSM and Laubman Pank brands, and in South America with the GMO brand. Luxottica also operates points of sale for its retail licensed brands in North America under the Sears Optical and Target Optical brands. Luxottica is comprised of global sun and luxury retail organizationsRead MoreThe Social Responsibility Of The Automobile Industry1282 Words   |  6 Pagesalso want to see businesses take on more corporate social responsibility as well as continuing advances in technology. Political/legal Legal issues come up when doing business in foreign countries that can be sometimes very costly. Ford of South America suffered an estimated loss of $300 million due to trade restrictions, which resulted in a weaker South American market. Technological There has been greater focus on sustainability, nanotechnology, and wireless communications improvements. The automobile